All Is a Miracle

“People usually consider
walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle
is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth.
Everyday we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a
blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child
– our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

As a yoga practitioner
for over 30 years, I have stepped onto my mat at various weights, with
or without child, with injuries here and there and certainly in moods or
with perspectives that could have used some improvement. This time I am
unable to use my legs, bend at the waist or maintain balance. Due to an
accident in December, I am now disabled and move either in a wheelchair
or with a walker. A new horizon and a new set of “rules” greet my every
day.

How tempting it is to step onto my mat as a victim! Yet my
teaching informs me that each moment is precious and it is the only
moment we have. So I have come to think of my “yoga of disability” as a
gift ~ asking me to persevere and to be grateful rather than power up
and use my will to achieve some sort of pose. Every day is different ~
as it is with any yoga practice. I arrive on my mat and I begin my yoga
sequence. A seasoned yogi opens to what shows up on that mat, and knows
it is life revealing itself. I take my first deep breath.

What
brings me to my practice ~ even though I can only breathe right now? I
was run over by an SUV and sustained serious injuries. I am only able to
sit and stand ~ but I can breathe…mindfully and with awareness. I am
lucky to be alive and I am grateful beyond words. So for me, my practice
~ and yes, my life ~ is about wonderment. I am nourished by a sense of
wonder. Each day I open to the vastness of all that is, rather than all
that is not. I open to all that is possible with yoga rather than the
poses I cannot do or might be tempted to willfully, force myself to
“try”.

As a yoga teacher, I have urged my students to accept that
there is no perfect pose, rather what a pose offers and how we “are” in
relation to this pose. I am finding that gratitude, compassion and trust
~ dedication and strength over time ~ are the qualities that bring me
growth and progress, rather than an ability to do a certain pose in a
certain way.

The skin around my chest is still numb from nerve
damage, so breathing is a sensation that feels different from any
breathing I have experienced before. How perfect: I have not been here
and not done this! New beginnings are my gifts. And my yoga practice is
rich with opportunity to re-define how I live and walk on this beautiful
earth. All truly is a miracle.

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